I'm not sure what the current rules are in NY but a "normal" NYS DL is not a DHS SecureID. You had to pay extra for that, last I knew. Then again, my friend's wife had one hell of a time (post 9/11 but some time ago) because her papers weren't in order wrt her maiden name and her married surname.

Florida wants a gen-you-whine SS card as one form of ID. But if you don't have one, you have to go to the SSA and apply for a replacement card, which will be mailed in several weeks. In the meantime the SSA gives you a plain laser-printed piece of white paper that says your new card is in the mail, and Florida accepts that plain easily counterfeited paper as an official government ID in lieu of a SS card. Ahuh.

Last time I went for a driver's license I read the line on the eye chart and stopped at the numbers. I said "I'll need a translator, I don't read Arab numbers, I only know Roman ones."

The nice lady almost panicked.

Yeah, they're all making the world safer.

When the folks at Radio Shack ask me for an address, I always look around, compliment them on the store, and ask if I can stay there for the night. Somehow, they manage to skip the address part after that. Yathink the same thing would work at the DMV?

I used St Brendans Isle for several years while living aboard and moving a lot. I found their service to be great. Traveling nurses and full-time RVers also use them. When we head out again next year, we plan to use them again.

Now they have an optional service where they'll scan the contents of your mail and email the images to you so you don't have to have the hard copies physically sent anywhere unless you want a hard copy.

They also provide assistance with obtaining and shipping replacement boat parts to you in far-flung parts of the planet, as well as with managing your yearly vessel documentation renewal (for U.S. documented vessels.)

When I originally signed up with them, I was living on my boat in California. They provided me with everything necessary to legally change my address and voter registration to Florida. Since then, I've actually had the opportunity to go by their location in Green Cove Springs, FL, a small town on the St. John's river.

I used St Brendans Isle for several years while living aboard and moving a lot. I found their service to be great. Traveling nurses and full-time RVers also use them. When we head out again next year, we plan to use them again.

Now they have an optional service where they'll scan the contents of your mail and email the images to you so you don't have to have the hard copies physically sent anywhere unless you want a hard copy.

They also provide assistance with obtaining and shipping replacement boat parts to you in far-flung parts of the planet, as well as with managing your yearly vessel documentation renewal (for U.S. documented vessels.)

When I originally signed up with them, I was living on my boat in California. They provided me with everything necessary to legally change my address and voter registration to Florida. Since then, I've actually had the opportunity to go by their location in Green Cove Springs, FL, a small town on the St. John's river.

I recommend them without reservation.

Can not recommend St. Brendan's enough.

We signed on with them in 2012. We made a physical trip to Green Cove Springs and picked up a driver's license and registered to vote all in one day. The DMV was fast and friendly and knew what we were about and had no problem issuing our license.

We did at one point receive an "address confirmation" from the voter registration people asking if we still lived there.

The bigger problem we've seen is places like banks, your typical customer service rep does not know the difference between a PMB and a P.O. Box, and the distinction is very important.

SBI gets you a PMB, a Private Mail Box. You set SBI as your Legal Mail Agent; they can sign for packages for you, sign and return your USCG documentation renewal, etc. Fedex and UPS deliver there too - it IS considered a legal street address.

We had some troubles opening an account with Fidelity because the CSR would not accept that SBI was not a P.O. Box. We finally got it, but only after I told them to delete all my accounts as I was going to find a company that was smart enough to figure out that they actually wanted my money...a supervisor got on the case and sorted it.

But I was right, they were in the wrong and I had to instruct them...a PMB is not a P.O. Box and that makes a BIG difference in your legal situation with SBI.

When you sign up with St Brendan's Isle, your address will be 411 Walnut Street followed by a box number. I avoided the box number hassles above by instead calling it an apartment. Banks, government entities, credit cards, etc have all been indoctrinated to accept apartment numbers. For example, I'd list my address as 411 Walnut Street. Apt 1234.

I never once had an issue with being rejected because it was a PO box or PMB, and St Brendan's staff never had a problem getting my mail to me. Maybe that trick could help avoid the PO box hassle issues.

Getting a mailing address is a piece of cake. Liz's apartment number approach is a great idea to make various forms work.

However, where you owes income or property taxes is based upon where you and your boat are actually located and for how long. I think most realize that using SBI not only doesn't make you a FL resident, it would be a pretty easy place for revenue agencies to check for potential cheats. With cell phone and credit card records, it takes any state about 24 hrs to determine if you've met their requirement for taxes due.

Ironically, paying local taxes without an address could be a challenge.

Getting a mailing address is a piece of cake. Liz's apartment number approach is a great idea to make various forms work.

However, where you owes income or property taxes is based upon where you and your boat are actually located and for how long. I think most realize that using SBI not only doesn't make you a FL resident, it would be a pretty easy place for revenue agencies to check for potential cheats. With cell phone and credit card records, it takes any state about 24 hrs to determine if you've met their requirement for taxes due.

Ironically, paying local taxes without an address could be a challenge.

No, I am legally a Florida resident at SBI. It is my only legal residence.

State income tax is handled by filing a return in the state you earn the money in.

For example we still own real estate investments and our house in RI. We have to file a RI return for those monies earns in RI from rents and properties there and of course local authorities where the property is collect that tax always.

But most of our income is on our 1040 and FL does not have income tax so we do not file a return there for money earned through other means.

We have no physical location that we live at that is fixed, but we are legally FL residents.

If you live aboard in a permanent slip outside if FL SBI makes less sense, but if you move around a lot across multiple states then you can make residency in FL. If you work in different places as you travel from Maine to FL you are going to need to file state returns in each state for the income earned there to stay legal.

BJ-
From an official State of Florida government web site:Frequently Asked Questions
"1.What are the requirements to become a resident of Florida?

Florida does not have rules for residency in general; residency in Florida is program specific. That is, it is attached to a specific purpose or need, such as taxes, in-state tuition, etc. ..."

Do you get it? "Residency", in general legal terms, is determined by where you physically park your butt and hang your hat. Where you either reside, currently, or have definite plans to return to after sojourning elsewhere.

The fact that Florida, unlike many other states, has no definition or requirements for residency does not make your SBI mailing address into a "residency". The fact that the Florida DMV will accept that mailing address, without using the USPS database and throwing it out for being a mailstop, does not make it a residency. And their DMV's own rules make that not-quite-clear by the actual way they refer to the address- -in their own requirements--and not to your actual physical residency.

As usual, Florida hasn't quite "gotten on the program" with the rest of the Continental US.

What you have is a "residential address" for the sole and "program specific" purpose of a Florida driver's license, which is not the same as a bona fide residence or residency. That other agencies blindly accept this is very nice, but in the years since 9/11 we've all seen a number of agencies, including the Florida DMV, reverse themselves on matters of what is valid ID and what is residency. Heck, the states can't even agree on whether they can or will issue driver's licenses to trespassers and felons, i.e. illegal immigrants.

By all means, as long as the SBI mailstop works for your needs, enjoy it. Just be aware that will probably change, and if that's all you've got when it inevitably does change, you may be caught in a tight spot.

Apparently, right now, your boat is your only and actual residency. Even if Florida is kind enough to ignore that, the Florida's DMV is primitive enough to accept that. In most other states, a DMV would accept that as your mailing address--but still require a separate physical residency address, which could even be "Aboard the good ship ..."

BJ-
From an official State of Florida government web site:Frequently Asked Questions
"1.What are the requirements to become a resident of Florida?

Florida does not have rules for residency in general; residency in Florida is program specific. That is, it is attached to a specific purpose or need, such as taxes, in-state tuition, etc. ..."

Do you get it? "Residency", in general legal terms, is determined by where you physically park your butt and hang your hat. Where you either reside, currently, or have definite plans to return to after sojourning elsewhere.

The fact that Florida, unlike many other states, has no definition or requirements for residency does not make your SBI mailing address into a "residency". The fact that the Florida DMV will accept that mailing address, without using the USPS database and throwing it out for being a mailstop, does not make it a residency. And their DMV's own rules make that not-quite-clear by the actual way they refer to the address- -in their own requirements--and not to your actual physical residency.

As usual, Florida hasn't quite "gotten on the program" with the rest of the Continental US.

What you have is a "residential address" for the sole and "program specific" purpose of a Florida driver's license, which is not the same as a bona fide residence or residency. That other agencies blindly accept this is very nice, but in the years since 9/11 we've all seen a number of agencies, including the Florida DMV, reverse themselves on matters of what is valid ID and what is residency. Heck, the states can't even agree on whether they can or will issue driver's licenses to trespassers and felons, i.e. illegal immigrants.

By all means, as long as the SBI mailstop works for your needs, enjoy it. Just be aware that will probably change, and if that's all you've got when it inevitably does change, you may be caught in a tight spot.

Apparently, right now, your boat is your only and actual residency. Even if Florida is kind enough to ignore that, the Florida's DMV is primitive enough to accept that. In most other states, a DMV would accept that as your mailing address--but still require a separate physical residency address, which could even be "Aboard the good ship ..."

I vote there, my license is there, the IRS and USCG are ok with that as my legal address.

A PMB is not a P.O. Box, there is an important distinction there as there is a physical street address outside of a US post office.

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